Healthy snacking on the go

You haven’t eaten in a few hours, you’re hungry and you’re in a rush. So, should you eat something? If so, what do you eat? Or should you just ignore your hunger and wait till your next meal?

It’s simple - YES, you should eat something if you’re hungry! Healthy snacking is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. Even if you’re trying to shed a few pounds, you should NEVER avoid eating when you’re hungry. You keep your metabolism firing by consuming low calorie, high fibre and protein snacks. If you wait too long between meals, your metabolism slows down and thus, makes it difficult to burn calories.

Your body needs food for energy, so give it what it wants! If you deprive yourself of food/snacks, then your metabolism slows down and starts to store fat. This storing of fat makes it hard to burn calories because your body is basically saying: “because you haven’t fed me in a while, I will store food as fat because I need future energy and I don’t know when I’ll be fed again.” Get it?

Simply put, eat something every 3 hours so that your metabolism doesn’t fall asleep. NEVER avoid snacking between meals.

But with that being said, what should you eat? Eating sugary, greasy, fatty snacks is not the answer as you will end up storing these foods as fat because your body can’t break them down efficiently. Choose high fibre, high protein snacks that will satisfy your hunger and keep your metabolism firing. And when you’re on the go, you should always have a few snacks on-hand to satisfy between-meal hunger.

Here are 5 healthy snacks:

Trail Mix – Any combination of dried fruit and nuts constitutes a healthy trail mix snack. This snack is perfect because it’s packed full of fibre (dried fruit) and protein (nuts). Also, the healthy fat in nuts will keep you satisfied for a long time. But, don’t be fooled by trail mixes that contain chocolate chips or smarties as these are not healthy snack options. Chocolate has no place in a trail mix.

Energy bar – Any granola or protein bar makes for a perfect snack. They have a good amount of fibre, protein and healthy fats. For females, choose a bar that has apx. 150 calories. For men, 200 calorie bars are the best.

Fresh fruit – Simple, fast and healthy. Fruit is a perfect snack option as it contains natural sugars and a high amount of fibre. Fruit contains enzymes that allow for easy digestive breakdown, making it a healthy go-to snack when you’re in a rush.

Vegetables – A bag full of carrots, celery, broccoli or any other vegetable is a perfect snack choice. Packed full of vitamins and fibre, these little packages of natural goodness make choosing a healthy snack easy.

Peanut butter and whole wheat crackers – healthy, easy, and portable. The protein and healthy fats in peanut butter make for a perfect ‘any time’ snack option. Whole wheat crackers also contain protein and fibre. The combination is as healthy as it is delicious.

There you have it - 5 simple snacks that can be consumed when you’re on the run.

Need more healthy snack options or clarification on anything? just let me know!